Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of dishwashers and, more particularly, to a vertically adjustable dishwasher dish rack arrangement.
Description of the Related Art
A front loading dishwasher typically includes a tub having an open front. The tub defines a washing chamber into which items, such as kitchenware, glassware and the like, are placed to undergo a washing operation. The dishwasher is generally provided with a door, pivotally mounted to the tub, that closes the open front, and upper and lower extensible dish racks for supporting items during the washing operation. Typically, the upper and lower dish racks are separated by a defined vertical spacing that limits the overall size of items that can be placed in the dishwasher.
In order to provide more flexibility to consumers, manufacturers have developed adjustment mechanisms that enable at least one dish rack to be vertically adjustable. Most commonly, the upper dish rack can be vertically shifted to increase the defined vertical spacing between the upper and lower dish racks. Typically, the adjustment mechanisms are mounted on opposing sides of the dish rack and connect to extensible support rails that permit the dish rack to move in and out of the washing chamber. In many cases, the adjustment mechanisms have complicated structure, can be difficult to operate in transitioning from one height position to another, are unstable and/or are simply not reliable.
Based on the above, there is still seen to exist a need in the art for an advantageously designed, stable and reliable vertical height adjustment system for a dishwasher dish rack.